You'll be ever so picky with your refried beans after you learn to make these! Even Mama Rosito will ask you for the recipe!
Impress your family on your next Mexican themed dinner night.
Impress your friends at the next social gathering.
Make the church ladies say "Mmmm mmmm, Good God!" at the church potluck!
About the Ingredients:
I like to buy my pinto beans that are in the mid price range at the store. Not all beans are alike. If you compare a bag of the cheapest beans with a bag say that is $1 more, you can see a difference in the size of the beans. The cheaper ones usually are smaller. Also, the color is different. The small beans usually are darker in color. This, of course, are just my observations.
I used a yellow onion in this recipe. Yellow onions cause less crying when cut, do not become mushy when saute'd, and they have the sweetest taste.
These spices, cumin, chili pepper, garlic powder, salt n pepper are a must. You probably think, that is all?! Well, it's how much you spice in this recipe, not the variety. I always keep my chili powder in the freezer, to retain the flavor and color. I use Sea Salt. I use ground pepper from my pepper grinder. If you decide to use Garlic Salt, omit the Sea Salt.
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I like to use my refried beans for breakfast tacos, so I start the beans in the crock pot the night before.
A simple recipe for delicious, hearty refried pinto beans. With just some simple planning you can have delicious beans in 1/2 a day. Your crock pot does most of the work.
Crockpot Refried Beans
IngredientsA 1 lb (16 oz) bag of dried pinto beans
6 cups of water
2 - 3 tbsp of bacon grease
1 medium sized yellow onion
2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
sea salt
ground pepper
Putting it All Together
Sort the beans, taking out anything that doesn't belong. Rinse. Add the beans and 6 cups of water to the crock pot. Set on low heat and leave overnight, 8 to 10 hours.
After the beans have cooked and are fork tender you must prepare for the final steps.
1. Heat your bacon grease, on low, in a large 5 1/2 quart pot on the stove. I like to use an enameled cast iron pot like Le Creuset or Lodge.
2. While grease is heating, dice your onion.
Cut your onion in half, then cut the half into a quarter. Make sure you cut through the core, keeping your onion together. Then make cuts in the quarter, not cutting into the core. (see above photo)
The make slices going in the opposite direction of the cuts you just made. (see above photo)
Voila. Nice coarse cut onions. Throw them into the bacon grease and get those babies saute'd! (see photo below)
3. Saute the diced onion for 5 minutes, covered on medium heat.
4. While onions are cooking, get part your spices together in a bowl. Add 1 tbsp cumin, 1/2 tbsp garlic, 1/2 tsp of chili powder, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 1/2 tsp pepper.
5. After 5 minutes, take the lid off the pot, stir your onions, add your spices. Stir and continue sauteing for 5 more minutes. Adjust heat as needed.
6. Get your cooked pinto beans and strain them. Reserve 1/2 cup or so of bean juice. Add them to the pot and mash them.
7. Keep mashing! You may want to add some bean juice if they are too thick. Once you have your texture, add the rest of the spices. 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tbsp cumin, 1/2 tsp chili powder. Mix, stir, taste!
I don't over spice mine, because I may want to use them for a specific dish later. That way I can add my preferred flavors later. i.e. jalapenos, pablanos, etc...
8. Cover, put on low, and simmer for 20 minutes. The spices need to get heated up to release their flavor.
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